Ecological Assessment
Water sources are threatened by both point and nonpoint source pollutants. Studies of the chemical impacts of these pollutants on ecosystem health are made by the Center's researchers and can lead to best management practices for nonpoint source pollution control.
Potentially cancer-causing chemicals from nursery or industry runoff can be analyzed through their fate and transport through the soil. Center researchers are studying these characteristics to limit the effects of the chemicals on aquatic and human life. Wetlands perform the important functions of surface water storage, nutrient cycling, and pollutant and sediment trapping. Natural wetland systems are being classified based on hydrology, plant and animal ecology, and soil composition to develop functional assessment models for these ecosystems.
The following are ecological assessment-related projects that were activated in the 2010-2011 fiscal year:
Barrens Heelsplitter Ecology and Population Dynamics
J.B. Layzer
Funding by: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Classification and Rapid Assessment fo Wetlands for the State of Tennessee
T.H. Roberts and K. Morgan
Funding by: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
Collection of Data at Deer Check Stations
T.H. Roberts
Funding by: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Compost Center and High Tunnel Construction and Management
G.K. Stearman and M. Best
Funding by: Tennessee Department of Agriculture
Distribution, Status and Species-Habitat Relationships of the Green Salamander, Aneides aeneus
D. Combs
Funding by: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Establish Non-essential Population of Two Endangered Mussel Species in the Lower French Broad River, Tennessee
J.B. Layzer
Funding by: U.S. Geological Survey
Monitoring Hydrologic and Vegetative Conditions at the Three River Mitigation Bank in Obion County
T.H. Roberts and K. Morgan
Funding by: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Monitoring the Plant Community at the Yuchi Waterfowl Project in Rhea County
T.H. Roberts and K.L. Morgan
Funding by: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Propagation of Pink Muckets (Lampsilis abrupta)
J.B. Layzer
Funding by: Tennessee Valley Authority
The Reintroduction of Mussels into the Little Tennessee River at the Calderwood Dam By-Pass, Blount and Monroe Counties
J.B. Layzer
Funding by: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
Research Directed at the Recovery of Endangered Mussels
J.B. Layzer
Funding by: U.S. Geological Survey
Historic Ecological Assessment Products (PDF file)
